Karbach Brewery is such a Clown

Karbach Brewery, a local crafter here in Houston has a deep, dirty dark secret. It’s the crazy ex-girlfriend who was great with more than just her hands and it’s the girl next door all in one big swallow. Karbach’s secret has taken grown men to their knees and sprouted hair on the chests of tough CrossFit girls.

The Double IPA secret, Karbach’s Rodeo Clown, grinning with its 9.5% ABV, has paved the way to many forgetful nights and highways to a happy hell. The best of all worlds fits into this tall chilled glass if you’re in the mood for that kind of a night or day. We don’t judge. We party and we live hard. Karbach has tours and tastings every day of the week and is, from what we’ve discovered on our journeys around Houston, a stellar option for trying out new drinks especially on a budget. Many Houstonians have heard of the infamous Double IPA but few have remembered its magical moments as it runs full throttle through their veins. We usually witness one of two reactions when Karbach’s Double IPA drops the beat in conversation. A twinkle lights up in the eyes of the group or chuckles turn into chronicled stories of some of the most fun times to date, complete with blackmail photos and vids. The secret is not the Double IPA but rather the effect it has that only those brave enough to empty bottles know about.

A group of our friends kicked off a Saturday birthday celebration there recently. Starting around 2P, we all made our way to Karbach’s current (but not for long) facility, as alluded to by a simple black sign out on the street that led into a strip of industrial-style buildings side by side. All the way to the back, hang a left and there opens up a tent with picnic tables, games, a food truck and everyone enjoying the flavors of Karbach. Go Mother in Lager! (a seasonal taste of heaven) Kind of felt like you were in your friend’s back yard, house party style. Finding it a little confusing to get to the “Admission” table, we mingled our way to the back of the whole operation where we were greeted with two options; the small glass for $8 or the big kid glass for $10, and a wristband.

As part of our fee, we were given four tokens. One was a special color contrary to the other three. There is no way you can be a one-beer-type man at this event my friend. We soon learned that was for the “specialty beer”, you know, the Double IPA. Wait wait wait, four beers, for $10 and one that’s actually got the ABV percentage of two+ beers? Boom, done. Let the games begin. If you’re not first you’re last.

A Word of Advice as we Stumbled to the Car that We Weren’t Driving

The brewery is about a 10-15 minute drive northwest from Downtown Houston. You head west on 290 and exit Mangum (not magnum, wtf dude!). You find your way to Karbach Street, begin to wonder which came first, the name or the street. Let us know if you found out the answer to this, we didn’t get that far before the Rodeo Clown made fools of us all. At any rate, it’s smart to Uber it or con someone into being the DD so you can make it back home. No we’re not your mom but after all, the night crowd that you’re probably about to head out to would miss you man.

From our experience, starting at 2P may have been a bad decision. Most of the “Clowners” had a tough time trying to rally for the night. Drinking that much beer during the day makes you want to sit down, turn on the DVR’d game and sleep or just dive off the deep end as you ride down Smith Street into Midtown standing there through the sunroof just feeling the wind in your hair. 2-3 hours would be plenty of time to shoot the shit, play dice for dares and talk shit to your friends before it’s time to move on to the next thing, like more drinking.

Oh! Dice for dares? Well it’s the game of odds. You guess the number you’re about to roll and the easier it is to roll that number, the less intense the dare. The harder it is to roll (snake eyes), the more intense the dare. Talk about pouring gasoline on the funfire of a man holding a Rodeo Clown.

It’s a cool spot to check out if you’re a) into craft beer, b) interested in buzzing on a budget, c) looking for something different to do as a late afternoon kickstarter or d) wanting to learn more about Houston-life. Either way, it’s a win-win in our book.

Karbach Brewery is open on these times and days for tours and tastings:

Monday through Friday
2P – 9.30P

Saturday12P – 9P

Sunday
12P – 5.30P

We saw also that if you’re into running, they have a Karbach Running Club on Thursday nights where you run, or for some of us, trot a 3ish mile course around 5:45P before you plunge in their wondrous beverages. Two Birds. One Stone. These guys know what’s up!

Don’t let us mislead you. Sure, maybe craft beer connoisseurs enjoy the taste of this Double IPA without the story turning into a stumbling night of greatness. If you meet that person or you are that person, you’re like a unicorn and we’d love to meet you.